Above All
by Katseester
Summary: [Oneshot][IchiRuki] Deathly wounded in a battle, Ichigo was dying, and he knew it. Rukia knew it too. She just wouldn't believe it. Abondoning the battle, Rukia tends to him, but nothing will work. Will Ichigo die, or can Rukia save him?


**This plotline came to me in a dream. Don't ask why, but it did. Maybe it's becasue I was watching Bleach before I went to bed...Anyways, I almost started crying while I was writing this, so I hope you really enjoy it. If Rukia and Ichigo are OOC, I take full responsibility. I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, and I don't own the song "Above All".**

**Tenfold Defiance**

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I looked at my bloodstained hands for just a second, then the arrancar that I faced. Then I ran over to him. He was lying on the ground, face-up, his sword lying only feet away. 

"Rukia! What are you doing!" Uryuu shouted at me, before shooting another arrow, but I ignored him. I didn't care about the arrancar anymore. All I cared about was him, and his life. I heard the sounds of the battle behind me. I heard the sound of Uryuu's bow being released, of Orihime's guardians attacking, of Chad's grunts as he tried to land a punch on the arrancar.

And I was kneeling down beside him, ignoring my duty completely, acting on my emotions. It was selfish, and I knew it, but I couldn't keep fighting when I knew that his life was running short.

I tried to heal him, but I didn't have enough energy. I had wasted it all trying to kill the arrancar. I tried my hardest to close his wounds; to will them shut, but my efforts were in vain. They stayed open, spilling his lifeblood upon the ground.

"Please, don't die. Please!" I whispered.

Tears sprang to my eyes as I tried to save him. I couldn't let him die.

I took his head and placed it in my lap, willing him to make a response, willing him to live.

His eyes opened a crack and he looked up at me. Hope filled my heart as I saw that single movement, but it was immediately crushed as he winced in pain. I brushed my hand over his forehead.

"Rukia…" he moaned, pain behind his voice. I placed a hand on his lips.

"Please, don't speak. You'll waste your energy," I whispered.

He shook his head, ever so slightly, and I could see that it caused him pain.

"I have…no energy left. I fought too hard, and now I can barely move. I only have a little left to give, so what's talking going to do?" He asked me, forcing his words out. "I'm broken, and you can't heal me. I know my fate, and I've come to accept it. We all die eventually, just some before others." I couldn't answer his question, and his words made sense, but I wouldn't believe that he was leaving me.

I started to cry, but I didn't feel the hot tears pouring down my face as I looked into his amber eyes. His beautiful amber eyes that I had glared at so many times before in our petty disputes. His beautiful amber eyes that could close at any moment and never open again.

"Why, Ichigo? Why? Why did you do it?" I cried, my sobs interrupting my words.

"Because…I wanted to," was his answer.

"But why did you want to?" I demanded. "Why did you save me? Why did you push me out of the way? Why didn't you let _me_ die instead?" Some of my tears dripped onto his face and I wiped them away.

In the background I heard a deafening crash, followed by a small round of cheers. I looked back to see the arrancar on the ground and slowly disappearing.

His rough hand came to my face. I could feel it trembling. He turned my face back to him. I looked at him and his face was full of pain.

"Please," he whispered. "Please don't look away. It may seem selfish, but I want my last sight of this world to be of you." I gripped his hand with both of mine and held it against my cheek.

"Don't say that!" I pleaded. "Please don't say that. You're going to be fine!"

He looked at me and chuckled, before coughing, bringing blood to his lips.

"You know that's a lie, Rukia," he whispered. I shook my head and closed my eyes, willing his words not to be true. As I opened my eyes again, he closed his. Panicking, I raised my voice.

"Ichigo, please. Stay with us! Stay with me!" I shouted, desperately and silently begging him to open his eyes. "Open your eyes! Please! Don't leave me!" The tears ran down my face faster as he didn't respond. "Ichigo!" I screamed, agony in my voice.

Finally he opened his eyes.

"I did it…because I love you," he whispered, blood running out of his mouth and down his jaw line. He gasped.

"Ichigo, no! Ichigo, stay with us! Please don't die! Please!" I begged.

"I love you, Rukia. That's why I pushed you aside. I love you," he repeated.

Desperately, I screamed for help, but all was in vain. I could only watch as Ichigo's eyes slowly closed.

"Ichigo! No!" I screamed. "You're stronger than that! Please!" But I knew he was dying. There was no way I could save him.

As he was lying there, his head on my lap, Ichigo breathed in once, twice, then laid still.

"No! Ichigo!" I sobbed, doubling over so much that my forehead touched his.

He had pushed me out of the way. The arrancar was attacking, and he had pushed me out of the way. Its blow fell on him instead of me. He had done it because he loved me. And I loved him. Now he was gone, and he would never know.

Unaware of myself, I started singing, the notes a little wobbly because of my sorrow.

_Crucified, layed behind the stone._

_You lived to die, abandoned and alone._

_Like a rose, trampled on the ground._

_You took the fall,_

_And thought of me,_

_Above all._

The last notes of my voice resounded through the dank air as I sobbed harder. I didn't even notice as everyone walked up to me. They were all shocked when they saw Ichigo, but no one was brave enough to ask the one question of what had happened. I answered it anyways.

"He died because he loved me," I said, my voice low through the tears. "He pushed me aside and took the blow for me. And I…will never forget him. Because I love him."

They all tried to comfort me, even Uryuu, and Orihime started crying too, but I ignored them as I held on to Ichigo's body tighter than was humanly possible.

"I love you, Ichigo Kurosaki," I whispered.

Putting all my grief and sorrow into one last ditch attempt, I tried one last time to heal him. A blue light surrounded me and my hair blew around me.

"Rukia! What are you doing! It won't work! He's dead!" I could hear Uryuu shouting above the fierce winds that had started around me. I ignored him.

The blue light became brighter around my hands as I furrowed my brow in concentration.

There was a flash, and I fell backwards onto the ground, my energy depleted. I lay there, breathing heavily, surprised that I wasn't dead. Then the tears started down my face again, as I realized my attempt was a failure.

Suddenly, something stirred on my lap, causing me to start in surprise.

"…Rukia…?" A faint voice asked. A smile came to my lips as I heard his voice again, and I knew that he would be fine.

"I love you Ichigo…" I breathed. "Please, stay with me." I felt him lie down on my lap again, and I caught my breath. I could tell that he was smiling, and so was I.

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**I hope you really enjoyed it!** **If you have any comments, questions, or anything, you can either review or send me a message and I'll try my hardest to get back to you.**

**Tenfold Defiance**


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